CT Assignment

Social Networking Channels

Thomas Lamonte Esters

Independence University

29 September 2018

SOCIAL NETWORKING CHANNELS 1

I dislike social networking sites because of the dangerous hazards connected to it.

The ProCon article vividly describes the numerous benefits that are attached to the social networking sites such as connecting people, enhancing advertising and marketing, promoting research and education, assisting to spread information faster as compared to other media, connecting employers and employees and assisting the government to identify and prosecute criminals. These are just a few examples that the article illustrates to support the necessity of the social networking sites in the society today. According to the article, the social networking channels have significantly transformed different sectors such as businesses for the better since they can sell their products and services globally (Procon.org, 2018).

However, the detrimental effects connected with the social networking channels are also numerous and most of them may lead to permanent damage to our lives. It is very clear that the education is the backbone of our lives and also the key to success. Currently, about 69% of the American population use social media channels which is a drastic increase in the usage from 2008 where about 26% of the Americans were connected to the social media (Procon.org, 2018). Most of the social networking sites users are the youths who are in their lower grade level, colleges or even universities. The research shows that using social media when handling assignments decreases the quality of work and makes the students drop in their performance. Education is a core value to a successful life and allowing social media to intrude in the academics will be detrimental since it will lead to the production of incompetent individuals who may end up causing problems in the society (Rowell, 2015). 

Moreover, the social media channels expose individuals’ to privacy problems and intrusion by any interested parties. In fact, nothing which is shared in the social media channels is private. According to the survey conducted, 81% of the people surveyed believed that social media is insecure. The government through the NSA (National Security Agencies) intrudes to people’s data and communication in social media meaning that their private information ends up in the hands of the government. Many people do not know about social media privacy settings and this means that they leave their social media accounts prone to invasion (Procon.org, 2018). Viruses such as Steck. Evl can also be propagated via the social media to cause harm to the users. Most of these viruses are spies and send users private information to the hackers which they then use for their benefits (Babbie, 2015).

Furthermore, social media channels lead to wastage of time. When a new activity is posted on the internet such as in Facebook, people take time to read, like and comment on such an activity and they are thus disrupted from their original work. In general, people take 20-25 minutes in the social media every time they log in at in worst cases, they may even take two hours being distracted from their normal tasks (Procon.org, 2018). This means that the productivity, quality, and effectiveness of the task will be significantly affected. This explains why many organizations limit the usage of corporation’s internet in channels such as Facebook and YouTube all with the aim of reducing wastage of time among the employees in these channels (Kaplan, & Haenlein, 2010).

Another worst thing about the social media channels is that they are connected with brain and personality ailments or conditions. According to the research conducted by the University of Pittsburgh, it is clear that the usage of social media leads to increased levels of depression in individuals within 19-32 age bracket. Another research found that social media leads to addiction among people which in turn increase the risk of having selfish traits and may even lead to social isolation. The research conducted by the United Kingdom government shows that about 41 percent of children spending three or more hours on the social media have a high risk of suffering from mental challenges in comparison with 21% who do not use social media (Procon.org, 2018). Mental challenges and depression are some of the causes of death and outbursts in the society. When children are depressed then their academic performance will be totally affected (Richards, Caldwell, & Go, 2015).

Last and not least, the social media channels are good areas where the criminals organize and commit crimes. Criminals recruit young people in their cartels using the social media. They also coordinate crimes such as sexual exploitation, bombing as well as drug and human trafficking through the social media (Procon.org, 2018). Through the social media, criminals can easily locate their prey and who will be victimized in a number of ways such as being killed or the members of the family forced to pay a huge ransom for the abducted person to be set free (Babbie, 2015).

In conclusion, the weight of the dangers that are linked to the social media exceeds its benefits. Its usage among the students decreases their academic performance as a result of the loss of concentration. It also exposes individuals to insecurity problems and they even lose their confidential information to the intruders such as government and hackers. Moreover, the gangs use the social media channels to employ our children to dangerous gangs such as terrorist groups which are a threat to the country’s and world’s security. Drug and human trafficking are also deep-rooted in the social media channels and this is the reason why more and more people are getting abducted every day while others are falling victims of dangerous drugs such as heroin. Our future is brighter than the social media which have all sorts of ills. Despite its advantages, it has heavy demerits which require us to reevaluate our usage of social media.

SOCIAL NETWORKING CHANNELS 6

References

Top of Form

Babbie, E. R. (2015). The practice of social research. Nelson Education.

Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68.